Prof. Peter Quartey Takes Helm of PIAC as Ghana's Oil Watchdog Gets New Leadership

Ghana's foremost oil revenue watchdog has a new leader. Professor Peter Quartey, a distinguished development economist and member representing the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, has been elected Chair of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) for a one-year term commencing 3rd November 2026. His election came at a sitting of the Committee on the same date, where members also chose Mr Samuel Bekoe — representing Think Tanks — as Vice Chair for a parallel one-year term.

New faces join a reconstituted Committee

The leadership transition coincides with a broader reconstitution of PIAC's membership, triggered by the expiration of several members' tenures. Five newly nominated members were sworn into office at the Ministry of Finance on 3rd November 2026 by the Director of Legal Services, Ms Evelyn Amerley Nuno-Amarteifio. The incoming members represent a cross-section of Ghanaian civil society and organised groups, reflecting PIAC's mandate to be broadly accountable to the public.

• Mama Agumekosua V — Queen Mothers Association of Ghana
• Dr Edmund Adinkra-Darko — Trades Union Congress (TUC)
• Alhaji Abdul Majeed Saeed — Muslim Groups
• Rev Johoiada Godwin Amuzu — Christian Groups
• Mr Daniel Kissi — Association of Ghana Industries / Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industries
• Mr Kyei Yamoah — Civil Society and Community-Based Organisations

Professor Quartey himself was renominated by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences for a fresh two-year term as a PIAC member before being elevated to the chairmanship. He succeeds Mr Richard Ellimah, whose tenure as Chair concluded in October 2026.

Who is Professor Peter Quartey?

Professor Quartey brings formidable academic and policy credentials to the role. He holds a PhD in Development Economics from the University of Manchester and an MSc in Quantitative Development Economics from the University of Warwick — both earned in the United Kingdom — in addition to an MPhil and a BA in Economics from the University of Ghana. With more than two decades of experience spanning development finance, monetary policy, private sector development and digital finance, he has held numerous senior academic and board-level positions across the continent. His research and policy work give him a deep understanding of the fiscal and financial dynamics that underpin Ghana's petroleum revenue management.

Why it matters for Ghana

PIAC was established under the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (Act 815) to independently monitor and evaluate the management and use of Ghana's petroleum revenues. It is one of the few statutory bodies tasked specifically with holding the government accountable for how oil money — from funds such as the Ghana Petroleum Funds — is collected, allocated and spent. In a period when Ghanaians remain acutely sensitive to fiscal discipline following the country's recent debt restructuring and IMF-supported recovery programme, the credibility and expertise of PIAC's leadership carries real weight.

An economist of Professor Quartey's standing at the head of the Committee signals a potentially more research-driven and analytically rigorous approach to scrutinising petroleum revenues. Civil society groups and policy watchers will be keen to see whether the reconstituted Committee intensifies oversight at a time when transparent management of natural resource revenues is closely tied to Ghana's broader economic recovery and long-term development ambitions. The Committee has pledged to welcome the contributions of its new members and to press ahead with strengthening its oversight mandate.